Kamehameha triumphs
By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer
MILILANI — On a starless night, the Kamehameha Schools boys track and field team shined brighter than ever.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
The Warriors won their third Hawai'i High School Athletic Association/Island Movers championship in six years last night despite only one first-place finish at Mililani Stadium.
Word of Life's Brashton Satele won the state discus title with a throw of 184 feet, 7 inches, just 17 inches short of the state meet record.
"We were just nitpicking our way through the whole thing," said Kamehameha head coach Sam Moku. "This is a blue-collar type team, with no real studs. They're just hard workers who have a lot of heart."
The Warriors' only gold medalist was junior Jeremy Kamaka'ala, who won the 3,000-meter run in 9 minutes, 16.45 seconds.
"I wanted it mostly to help my team — that's what meant the most to me," said Kamaka'ala, who also was the 2003 cross country state champion. "This team did it all through hard work. It was ridiculous how hard we worked some days, even doing ab(dominal) work. But the coaches put it in front of us that we have a chance to win, and we wanted it that bad and tried our best."
Among Kamehameha's other key contributors were Anthony Taylor, who finished second in the long jump with a mark of 21 feet, 10 inches, and Kepa Gaison, who won a silver medal in the shot put with a mark of 53 feet, 6.5 inches.
"Our weights men and jumpers really came through," Moku said. "Anthony Taylor and Kepa Gaison did great, and Kamuela Kapanui went from seventh place to third in the discus. Those guys in the field events really set the tone, and from there everyone else followed through with the running events."
In other meet highlights, Waimea's 4x100 team of Thomas Batis, Kenny Estes, Eric Groc and Troy Yamase set a meet record with a time of 42.78 seconds, breaking the mark of 42.98 set by St. Anthony (Jered Pacheco, Jamaal Rivers, Panfilo Bascar and Brad Somera) in 2003.
There is no track at Waimea High School, so the Menehunes practice by running around the baseball field.
"They have to watch out for fly balls if the baseball team is practicing," athletic director Jon Kobayashi said.
As for practicing relays, Kobayashi said: "They only practice in legs: one passes to two, two passes to three ..."
Kapa'a senior Joseph Locey repeated as the 200-meter champion, coming within one-hundreth of a second of the meet record (21.90) he set last year. Locey won handily against two highly regarded opponents, Farrington's Josh Villoria (22.31) and Waimea's Kenny Estes (22.68).
"Man, almost!" Locey said, when hearing his near-record time.
Hawai'i Prep's Daniel Teo-Nesheim won the shot put with a mark of 58-even, falling short of the meet record (59-8.75) set by Punahou's Kaione Crabb in 1997. Word of Life's Brashton Satele won the discus with a throw of 184-7, just 17 inches short of the meet record (186-even) set by Kahuku's Jerrod Avegalio in 2003.
In perhaps the most exciting boys race, Kealakehe's Matt Orvis literally dived at the finish line to win the 400 in 50.07 seconds, just three-hundreths of a second ahead of Hawai'i Prep's Collin Saxby. Orvis fell face-forward and rolled over his left shoulder after his lunge.
"I had no idea I won; I thought (Saxby) beat me," Orvis said. "For me to do this is a miracle. I think God threw me over the finish line — it was the only way I could have won."
Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2456.
